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Les Paradisiers – When We Had The Moon [English/Polish]

ENG: I was listening to Ô Paradis, back in the day. I was listening to it a lot. The first two albums and splits with Nový Svět are still magical. Another few releases also host in my player every now and then. However, I have to admit that at some point – somewhere around “Pequeñas Canciones De Amor”– the project vanished from my radar. I was quite surprised recently to find the “Carreteras” CD on my shelf, while I don’t recall at all when I purchased this one, or if I’ve given it at least one listen – “When We Had The Moon” is probably the first album in years, with Demian involved, that I managed to get to know so deeply.

Of course Les Paradisiers is not an Ô Paradis incarnation, Demian’s contribution is about fifty percent here – the second member of the duo is Thomas Nöla and “When We Had The Moon” is already their third album, once again released via Thomas’ label, Disques De Lapin. Thomas had a lot of great moments on his own albums as well; I have a great fondness for “So Long, Lale Andersen”. But once again “When We Had The Moon” is on my speakers and I wonder if this Moon isn’t the place where these two gentlemen put the most catchy songs in all their work, including Les Paradisiers and their mother projects.

The chorus in “One Last Smile” sounded familiar from the very beginning, and after a quick look in the digipack the familiarity proved justified, as the song directly refers to “Sound And Vision” by David Bowie. In their next pieces the American and Spaniard offer a wide range of moods, though they don’t escape into more surreal territories even for a moment, as they – especially Demian – like to do in their home projects. This album is essentially supposed to be a journey to the Far East – Les Paradisiers debut dealt with South Pacific areas, while with the second one the listener was brought to North Africa. Just look at the cover. Except that I don’t hear that much Far East, for me it’s strongly rooted in American sounds. In “No Sunshine” and “My Lover” we can hear some blues and country music. Later there’s also a bit of Cave, The Doors, even a subtle touch of synthpop. Although the fact is that the spirit of Bowie hovers over the whole thing, not just the first song.

The album is very nice and easy to acquire. These are mostly dynamic pieces, though from time to time the gentlemen allow themselves to show their more intimate side. The Pogues cover, “Summer In Siam”, ends the album and I feel a bit sad when its last notes fade away. Maybe this album won’t enter my favorites canon, but for late evening meetings with friends, it fits almost perfectly.